#sponge crab

[daily-crabbys]

Today's crab is: comfy

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Lamarckdromia beagle: this species of crab wears living sea-sponges as protective "hats," with each crab selecting a sea-sponge, trimming it, and then draping the tailored sponge across its carapace

Above: Lamarckdromia beagle wearing a sea-sponge on its head

Last year, a newly-classified species of sponge crab known as Lamarckdromia beagle was discovered off the coast of Western Australia. This species belongs to the Dromiidae family, which contains many different crabs that are known to use living sea-sponges and ascidians to protect themselves from predators.

Above: Lamarckdromia beagle without the sea-sponge

This article explains how the crab's peculiar "hat" is used:

Dr. Andrew Hosie, a curator of crustaceans and worms at the Western Australian Museum, says that sponge crabs have hind legs that are specially adapted for holding their protective hats. “The sponge or ascidian just keeps growing and will mould to the shape of the crab’s back,” he says. "It will never attach. It forms a nice cap that fits quite snugly to the top of the crab."

Similar to how hermit crabs use shells for protection, the sponges help Dromiidae crabs remain camouflage from predators such as octopuses and other crabs.

The sponges can be bigger than the crab itself, and also provide a chemical deterrent. “Some of the compounds that these sponges are producing are very noxious,” says Dr. Hosie. “There’s not a lot of active predators that would be interested in munching through a sponge just to get to a crab.”

Sponge crabs come in many different shapes and sizes, but this particular species has a dense, shaggy coat of bristles, which makes it look even more peculiar. The other crabs in genus Lamarckdromia are much less fuzzy, and there are many sponge crabs that have no "fur" (i.e. layer of bristles) at all.

Some of the other examples of sponge crabs from the Dromiidae family are depicted below.

Sources & More Info

The Guardian: "Fluffy" Crab that Wears a Sponge as a Hat Discovered in Western Australia

Reef Builders: Lamarckdromia beagle: A New Species of Sponge Crab from Australia

Zootaxa: Sponge Crabs of Western Australia and the Northwest Shelf with Descriptions of New Genera and Species

Live Science: An Extremely Fuzzy Sponge Crab

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: New Sponge Crab Species Named After Charles Darwin's Research Boat

Slate: Meet the Fluffy Crab that Wears a Hat

[snailandfriends]

[spadefish]

This month's fish!! One fantasy, two real. The first one is probably the most mental gymnastics I've had to do to create an ironically very simple looking fish; the sponsor basically said "here is a picture of my shoe that exploded and I fixed it with a zip tie." You can ponder for yourself what the original image looked like, LOL

The second two are a sponge crab and a sheepshead!

[herpsandbirds]

Bristled Sponge Crab, Austrodromidia octodentata, family Dromiidae, South Australia

Photograph by Steve Johns

[tentacleonastick]

Daily drawing: sponge crab

[ifitaintbroke-moved]

I need you all to look at this man

LOOK!!!!!

ARE YOU LOOKING!!!!!

He is my savior he is my god, I worship him, he was there for me when no one else was, he was what I saw when I was born, he will be what I see when I die, he-

[gooeyblob]

Drew some more of my sfw speedy platformer OC idea, Oulaya the Olm. This time, expanding more of the cast.

Scuttle the Sponge Crab (sidekick), Brutes the River Otter, Arrow the Basklisk Lizard (rival), Prin the Damselfly

and the villain, The Toymaker (Elephant Seal)